But while it found that every Samsung device cited by Apple infringed the so-called ’381 patent, some were clear of the latter two.

The case also covered four “design patents,” which cover a product’s looks but not its functions. Again, the jury only found across-the-board infringement of one patent: D604,305, which describes iOS’s grid lineup of app icons. That’s also the most questionable patent in the bunch, owing to the inevitability of that arrangement.

At least some Samsung devices were clear of D618,677 (how an iPhone’s glass runs from edge to edge) and D593,087 (an iPhone’s rounded corners), while no Samsung tablets infringed upon D504,889 (the iPad’s combination of screen and bezel).

Can’t Apple turn around and sue Samsung for its next round of devices, then go after other Android vendors as its worldwide campaign grinds on? Yes. But now that Apple has laid out such a sweeping case, its potential defendants have a better sense of their exposure and how to tweak their products.

Don’t get me wrong: Although Samsung can eat a billion-dollar verdict and possible future royalties, those aren’t expenses its executives should laugh off — not least if they really did think, “let’s Xerox parts of iOS,” after realizing Apple’s recently acquired taste for intellectual-property litigation. And revising hardware and software won’t come free either.

But the slow pace of patent litigation ensures that Apple’s biggest threat to Android lies not in the courtroom but in the market. Remember all of those copycat “iPod killer” media players? Apple’s engineers and designers, not its lawyers, helped herd them to near-extinction.